


Growing Pains

by Daniela_is_not_amused



Category: Daredevil (TV), Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), Spider-Man - All Media Types, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, The Avengers - Ambiguous Fandom
Genre: Accidental Cult, Actual Devil Matt Murdock, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, BAMF Matt Murdock, Catholic Matt Murdock, Gen, Human Disaster Matt Murdock, Karen Page Knows Matt is Daredevil, Not Avengers: Age of Ultron (Movie) Compliant, Not Captain America: Civil War (Movie) Compliant, Peter Parker Has Nightmares, Peter Parker is a Little Shit, Peter Parker is a Mess, Protective Matt Murdock, Slow To Update, The Avengers Are Good Bros, Tony Stark Has Issues, accidental deification, but not really, scary daredevil, they have issues tho, those didnt happen basically, tony stark messes up but he gets better
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-30
Updated: 2020-09-16
Packaged: 2021-03-03 00:20:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,901
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24461944
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Daniela_is_not_amused/pseuds/Daniela_is_not_amused
Summary: Everyone knows that Hell's Kitchen isn’t the safest neighborhood. This is a fairly undisputed fact and it has scared heroes away and attracted the worst people. However, some heroes still try to take it as their own and, if the crime and the people of Hell's Kitchen don’t scare them away, the shadows will.Years ago, before the first shadow became known as 'the Red Devil' and, later on, 'Daredevil' or just 'Devil' to the world, he alone scared away any hero who’d try to become Hell's Kitchen’s guardian.Hell’s Kitchen is not a place for heroes. It’s time for Spider-Man to learn that.
Relationships: Matt Murdock & Franklin "Foggy" Nelson, Matt Murdock & Peter Parker, Peter Parker & Pepper Potts, Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Comments: 15
Kudos: 143





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoy this little mess i managed to put together.
> 
> Stay safe. Stay kind. Stay hopeful.

At first the people of Hell’s Kitchen don’t really like Daredevil, they see him as a menace, a lunatic, as yet another problem they don’t need but, soon enough, they start to see the differences: robberies stopped, drug cartels dismantlement, corrupt cops exposed, kidnappers and abusive partners beaten to a bloody pulp and dropped off where the police could find them easily. 

Daredevil is doing more than those who should protect the people of Hell’s Kitchen and the people soon decide who they want to believe in. The ‘Devil’, as they call him, remains true to his namesake: he never goes after the innocent but is always quick to punish the guilty.

So the people start leaving candles or tea lights on their windows, late at night, along with small ribbons of red fabric. They hope that, wherever the ‘Devil’ is, he’ll be able to see it and know they’re thankful for what he does. 

The stories, tales of all the good things he’s doing for this neighborhood, are quick to spread as well. Sure, maybe the local priest isn’t all that pleased that his people are praising someone dressed up as the devil, but Daredevil’s deeds are far too great to go untold, unappreciated. After all, the people of Hell’s Kitchen aren’t without honour.

There are no gods in Hell’s Kitchen, so the people listen to the whispers instead. Quietly, where the light won’t reach. They listen to the tales of the man who keeps them safe; the Red Devil who watches over them during the night.

Little graffiti begin to pop up all across the neighborhood. The design is simple but meaningful: two capital D’s finished off with two small, pointy horns, all spray-painted in the brightest shade of red possible. The art style varies a lot, depending on the artist’s preference and time (after all, the police isn’t too keen on people showing their support for the local vigilante). Still, most are kept fairly simple and small. They serve their purpose nonetheless; they remind people that the Devil is out there, watching, and that the shadows are no longer a safe hiding place for evil.

In time, the light catches up to the shadows. Those in the light rage against the Devil, demand his arrest, his exposure. They don’t care about the good he’s doing, the destruction he’s stopping, the people he’s saving. They don’t understand what it’s like to live their whole life afraid of the dark. But the people of Hell’s Kitchen aren’t without loyalty. The amount of candles, tea lights, red ribbons and graffiti keeps rising, symbols of undying support spread all across the neighborhood and so do the whispers.

The Red Devil protects his people from the shadows, helping even those in the light who fight against him, but never seeking help himself. Too used to keeping his secrets, too used to the shadows, too used to the loneliness that comes with living in the dark.

* * *

Everyone knows that Hell's Kitchen isn’t the safest neighborhood. This is a fairly undisputed fact and it has scared heroes away and attracted the worst people. However, some heroes still try to take it as their own and, if the crime and the people of Hell's Kitchen don’t scare them away, the shadows will.

Years ago, before the first shadow became known as 'the Red Devil' and, later on, 'Daredevil' or just 'Devil' to the world, he alone scared away any hero that tried to become Hell's Kitchen’s guardian.

They came looking for glory, they’ll say it is for justice, for truth, for the people, but Daredevil knows. He knows the heroes come for the glory, the wishful thinking that they’ll be the ones to bring down his neighborhood. There’s no justice or truth or a mighty fight for the people, he knows because he is alone in that fight. He alone fights for Hell's Kitchen, the neighborhood that has taken everything from him and will continue to take because Hell's Kitchen is not nice; it was never nice. He understands his neighborhood and his people, he knows the backstreets and the underground tunnels and the darkest corners.

Of course, heroes don’t come to Hell's Kitchen that often. Not since the Devil took a stand and declared Hell’s Kitchen as  _ his _ , but that doesn’t mean there aren’t some who ignore his warning and try to ‘help out’. If that is the case, Daredevil and the people of Hell's Kitchen will be more than willing to scare the hero away. Hell's Kitchen is theirs to protect. And they’ll protect it to their dying breath.   
  



	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daredevil and Spiderman's first encounter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! Im sorry I took so long to update. This isn't the proper, long chapter I hoped to put out but life has been crazy and I feel like I should  
> probably post what I already have instead of waiting for the perfect chapter and time to come. I hope you enjoy it!
> 
> Just a small warning: the strange use of 'daredevil' and 'matt' has a very specific meaning and they aren't meant to be synonymous. Right now it might sound and feel weird but i promise it would make much more sense later on.

Daredevil is not fond of Interlopers. He finds it hard to trust people and his need to keep things under control makes it harder to work with others, especially strangers. So when this "Spiderman" guy started popping up all across Queens, Daredevil made a point to silently track his appearances in order to make sure he didn't get too close to Hell's Kitchen.

Interestingly enough, Spiderman never, not once, crossed the neighborhood's limits and mostly kept himself busy with low stakes criminals. Then he got involved with alien tech and Tony fucking Stark. Oh, and, according to foggy, graduated from his homemade onesie (not that Matt had noticed).

Matt knew it was only a matter of time before the new guy decides to show up in Hell's Kitchen. For once, they were far too close to each other's fighting grounds and, most worryingly, alien tech had fallen into the wrong hands due to Stark (and S.H.I.E.L.D., he supposed)'s piss poor handling of the New York invasion.

(Honestly, it was just stupid to even hope for a quiet night in Hell's Kitchen. Matt shouldn't have gotten his hopes up).

Spiderman shows up on a Friday night and he doesn't even try to be subtle about it. He's constantly babbling (even while evading a rain of bullets), moving too fast yet without any grace in his steps. And, most jarringly, he sounds unsure. Afraid, even, with his heart beating too fast against his chest, sounding like it's gonna jump out at any second.

Matt steps in, barely holding back a sigh.

The fight is quick and he’s grateful that Spiderman’s targets, whoever they are, are short on bullets and fighting skills, because all that Spiderman does is stand to the side and stare at him. Someone should tell him that, if he can’t fight, he should stay away from the crime fighting world and, above all, from Hell’s Kitchen.

“You shouldn’t be here”, Matt grunts as the last criminal standing falls to the ground with a dull thud. Spiderman is _still staring_ but he’s gotten closer to examine the fallen bodies. 

“You shouldn’t be here”, Matt repeats and, honestly, he has better things to do so he steps away from the scene and grabs the bag that lured Spiderman all the way to his neighborhood. He can’t figure out exactly what he’s holding but the metallic smell and overall shape screams ‘alien tech’.

This time he's not so successful at fighting back that sigh.

“You have to leave. Now. I’ll take this off your hands.” He makes a point of tilting his head towards the unconscious figures on the ground and that seems to break Spiderman of whatever trance he was in.

“No way, dude! This is _my_ case. I’ve been following them for weeks! I can’t just hand them over like that.” The outburst, however loud and sudden, is short lived and Spiderman actually yelps under his breath when Matt steps towards him. Still, Matt can hear the blood rushing inside his veins, heart beating too fast, and it’s clear he’s not backing down that easily.

“And this is _my_ neighborhood.” It’s a childish fight and they’re both aware of it, but Matt can’t just let this Spiderman guy walk away with eight unconscious men and a bag full of weapons. So he stands his ground and does his best to look like every inch of the terrifying creature people think him to be. “I will take them to justice and hand these weapons to people who can keep them off the streets.”

Spiderman wants to fight him on this, maybe literally, but he’s clearly afraid of ending up like the guys behind them so he tries to compromise on letting Matt do his thing and ‘swinging by’ in a few days to see how things ended up. Matt doesn’t have it in him to fight him about it, not when it’s almost three in the morning and he has a meeting with a new client at eight.

“We meet here, next friday, at midnight. I tell you what you need to know and you go back to Queens as soon as we’re done. Don’t be late, don’t tell anyone and don’t get in my way.”

“Nice!” Spiderman lets out, skipping from one foot to the other, as if he was just told that he got a free pass to Disney world. Matt steps back into the shadows before the urge to knock some sense into the new superhero got the best of him. “Uh, you’re calling the police, right?”

Matt doesn’t bother with an answer.

  
  


True to his word, Spiderman stays away from Hell’s Kitchen during the next few days and, once he crosses the neighborhood's limits, he keeps his visit short and straight to the point. He’s less scared than he was before but he’s still uneasy about being next to the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen.

‘Good’, the Devil growls from the back of Matt’s mind, and there’s some comfort in listening to the loud, fast pace of Spiderman’s heartbeat.

“So, uh, Mr. Daredevil, what- what happened to those guys from the other day?”

“They’re in prison and they won't be back anytime soon."

“Oh. That’s nice.” It’s all that Spiderman can come up with, sounding honestly surprised that Matt didn’t kill his targets, and, despite the amount of guilt and shame weighing down on his chest, Matt can’t blame him. Not after everything he has done all and all the rumors surrounding his night activities. 

Matt can, however, judge his choices when it comes to wording. So he does.

“I mean, going to jail isn’t nice but… You know? They’re alive? Not that I thought you were going to kill them or anything… I just thought, you know-”.

“The weapons you found were of alien origin. Dangerous and far superior to what New York gangs are used to.” Matt cuts him off, disregarding the clear embarrassment in Spiderman’s voice and the fast pace of his heartbeat. “I disposed of them safely but this is the last time I take care of your problems. Hell’s Kitchen doesn’t need any more criminals or guns, so you better stay out of my neighborhood.”

“It’s not like I told them to run all the way to here”, Spiderman mutters, sounding more like a petulant preschooler than a fully grown vigilante.

Matt can’t help but to roll his eyes, aware that Spiderman can’t see it with his mask on, and steps back into the shadows. “Go home, Spiderman, and stay out of Hell’s Kitchen. Next time you decide to _swing by_ I won’t be so merciful.”

Luckily, Spiderman does as he’s told, and Daredevil listens to his rambles and roaring heartbeat as he leaves the neighborhood with a disturbing amount of satisfaction. 

**Author's Note:**

> English is not my first language.
> 
> Comments and kudos are fuel to my mind.
> 
> Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author of this story. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any previously copyrighted material. No copyright infringement is intended.


End file.
